Why You Spend Less Long Before You're Laid Off

Americans, it turns out, are pretty good at predicting their chances of becoming unemployed over the next year, and they tend to spend accordingly. That's according to research by Michael D. Hurd and Susann Rohwedder, researchers at RAND Corp., who analyzed data from over 2,500 households from the RAND American Life Panel. Hurd and Rohwedder found that spending in certain categories, including eating out, clothing and entertainment, tends to decline much more than overall spending in response to fears over unemployment.

At the same time, Hurd and Rohwedder found that people's fixed costs, including rent, utilities and car payments, remain relatively stable amid fears of unemployment. Those expenses are, after all, difficult to adjust quickly, even in the event of an actual layoff. When people felt less secure in their jobs, though, they reduced spending on clothing by about 14 percent, dining out and other forms of entertainment by 11 percent and personal care, which includes things such as haircuts or pedicures, by 12 percent.

The data, which was collected at regular intervals between the fall of 2008 and April 2013, showed that even at the beginning of the Great Recession, spending had already started to fall, before the spike in unemployment that would come later, simply because people's expectations about the future had changed. During periods of actual unemployment, Hurd and Rohwedder previously found that people cut back their spending in these categories even more, with a drop of 61 percent on clothing and apparel spending and 49 percent on dining out after two months of unemployment. Overall spending declined just 11 percent after two months of unemployment.

People with a high expectation of unemployment did increase spending in one area, though: public transportation. "It's cheaper to use public transportation than to use your own car, so it's a way of reducing expenses in a relatively painless way," Hurd says. Even if you still have a car, you can pay less for gas and upkeep by using it less.

"If somebody perceives from their work situation that there is a high probability they will become unemployed, they will cut back [on spending] rather than wait until it actually happens," Hurd explains. That finding in itself in a revelation, since researchers previously doubted that people could make such accurate predictions about the future of their employment.

Taking that kind of preventive action to cushion the blow of a potential future layoff is exactly what they should be doing, Hurd says. "It's much easier to reduce spending a little bit over a long period of time than to reduce spending by a lot over a short period," Hurd says. You might hardly notice cutting back on food spending by 5 percent over a year or longer, but suddenly cutting back by 30 percent would be more difficult.

Hurd says he was surprised to find that almost three in four households said they reduced their spending because of the financial crisis. "Since Americans are known for overspending, that sounds very frugal," he says. It's possible that the economic uncertainty motivated that shift, he adds.

Behavioral Finance

One problem with that natural reaction, though, is that when Americans spend less, it can exacerbate the problems of a struggling economy. "It's very clear that in our surveys, people who had no economic shock themselves but were fearful of getting laid off reduce spending. Maybe they have some undefined fears, so the natural response is to draw back, and that is partially responsible for the continued decline in the macro economy," Hurd says. Expectations, he adds, aren't very well understood but are extremely important at both the macro and individual levels.

While Americans might not be able to do much on their own to buoy the overall economy, they can protect their finances by cutting back on their spending in small amounts even before they fear losing their jobs to avoid having to do so suddenly in response to a loss in income. "It would be better for people to spend less early on and to save," says Hurd, adding that people should first assess their own financial situation to determine how much of a buffer they need to have tucked away.

Hurd also recommends spending time thinking about the probabilities of various events occurring, from getting a raise to paying for college to a child. Planning financially for both good and bad events can help avoid unpleasant shocks, he says.

It's also possible to go too far in the other direction, Hurd warns. "Saving is not free -- you can save too much because you're overly pessimistic, and that could be costly also," he says.

Most of us spend a ton of time researching our options when we first sign up for a plan or policy, then forget all about it and make monthly payments like a robot. But this can cost you.

If you've been on the same cell phone plan for a while, or you haven't looked at the terms of your insurance policies (home, life, auto) since you got them, it's time to do a review. Your circumstances may have changed, and new plans or deductions may have come out since you first signed up. Call up customer service (or your agent) and have them walk you through your options if you're having trouble comparing things on your own.

One of the biggest budget sucks is our own forgetfulness. We miss payments and incur late fees because we've misplaced our statement or didn't manage to get our mail out in time. We fail to save as much as we'd like because we just never remember to do it.

The easiest way to save yourself some money (and hassle and stress) is to set it and forget it. Sign up for auto-pay so your monthly bills are automatically deducted from your checking account. Have a certain amount automatically transferred each month from your checking to your savings account. Remove the human error factor, and your budget will be better for it.

We charge so much nowadays -- whether on credit cards or debit cards -- that it's easy to spend a lot of money without really registering it. When you have a set amount of bills in your wallet, however, it's extremely easy to see how much you've spent so far this month and how much is left.

Take those budget categories of yours -- groceries, entertainment, etc. -- and turn them into real, physical envelopes. At the beginning of each month, put that month's allotment of cash into each envelope. When you're running low, you'll know you need to be careful with your purchases. When you're out, you're done spending on that category till next month.

If you're prone to impulse purchases, imposing a waiting period on yourself is an easy way to break the cycle.

For large purchases, a 30-day waiting list is best. Write down the item that's calling to you, then wait 30 days before allowing yourself to buy it. You may realize in that time that you don't need it after all. Or you may forget why it called to you in the first place.

For smaller impulse buys, like that fancy new product you spotted in the grocery aisle, follow a 10-second rule. Before the item can go into your cart, spend 10 full seconds asking yourself if you really need it and how you will use it. Simply analyzing why you're getting something can disrupt the siren call of a product.

It's all too easy to blow $5, $10, even $20 on something, whether it's an extra meal out or a coffee on the run. In the grand scheme of things, it "doesn't seem like much" to us. But if you start thinking of your money in terms of the time it took you to earn that money, suddenly you find yourself evaluating your spending choices a little closer.

Figure out what you make per hour if you're salaried (if you're hourly, this will be easy). Let's say you make $15 per hour. For every $15 you spend, you'll have to spend another hour of your time at work to pay for that item. A coffee a day for a week can cost you an hour or two. And bigger items, like that flat screen TV you're eyeing? You get the drift. Framing purchases in light of time spent can help you make sure something is worth it.

In the end, a budget is simply a means of making sure your money is working for you. It allows you to see how much you're brining in and allocate it towards the things that are most important to you. If you can hold those bigger goals in mind, everyday budgeting becomes easier.

If you're wondering whether or not to buy something, ask yourself if that money would be better spent towards your big goal. Put a visual reminder in your wallet to keep you on task-like a photo of a sandy beach if you're trying to save up money for a trip. Viewing your budget in terms of what it will allow you accomplish-not the things it won't allow you to buy, can revolutionize your spending.